Timothy the Brother
by atearsarahjane
Summary: Series of interconnected (and hopefully chronological) drabbles/one shots about Tim as a brother. No set time of update just whenever the mood strikes me so don't expect regular stuff.
1. Chapter 1

Timothy could honestly say he never thought he'd be a brother. His parents had been busy enough with him and their busy lives without a sibling. Then Mummy died and the unlikely became the impossible. It was just Dad and Tim against the world. And then it wasn't.

Shelagh was a surprise addition to the faltering family unit the turners had patched together after their heart was ripped from them by a singular swing of a blade in the wrong place at the wrong time. Suddenly the future seemed brighter, each day the heaviness that had blighted Tim and his father was lifted a little more until all three of them were buzzing with excitement at the upcoming wedding.

It hadn't occurred to him at first the full ramifications of his new step mother to be. One night out of nowhere it had hit him. He could have a sibling soon.  
At first he couldn't decide how he felt about such a proposition. It'd only been him and Dad for so long. He was only just getting a mother again. Was it selfish for him to want to enjoy being a unit of three, if only for a little while. It would be at least 9 months before he would have to share his parents. Maybe he should just make the most of that time.

He hadn't even realised he'd begun to watch siblings play until Shelagh questioned him, somewhat delicately as he could tell she still wasn't sure of her place and rights therein as a soon to be mother, about his sudden fascination. Perhaps it was a way to try rectify her thoughts, or because despite all that happened and changed she was still the Sister Bernadette who had often been there for him, but he barely resisted before admitting his concerns.  
Her response was unexpected. He knew she was fond of him, perhaps even loved her, but he didn't realise quite how much she did. No matter how many children his father and she may or may not have he would always be her oldest child, her firstborn even it were not to her that he was borne.

That had settled it. He decided he would quite like to have a little brother or sister like, even if they would be a lot younger than him.

But to get a sibling his parents needed to get married so he focused all his efforts on making the day go as smoothly as possible. Even if that meant covering up his increasing unwell feeling.


	2. Chapter 2

He'd ruined his chance to get a sibling before his birthday. That was the timeline he had set out for himself. Stupid polio. Now all he could hope for was that his new sibling would come as quickly as possible, there were already too many years between them, what if there were even more? Would his hypothetical sibling have nothing in common with him? Would they resent that had memories of Dad's parents when they would not? Would they have a different world to grow up in? Would they not be able to bond as a result? What if they only had a few years together before he went off to university?Now the gap was bigger than it could have been and the bond of siblings grew tangibly months passed and Shelagh eventually became his step mother and hope for a sibling began to grow once more. One day he came home from school to find her curled up on the settee, looking like she was exactly where she belonged and sewing a baby's nightdress. His heart had jumped into his throat-could it be?

His mind sprang to the child that could join their family. Would they be dark haired like his father and him or blonde like it's mother? Would it like planes like he did? Would it be able to take over playing the piano at choir? Would he be allowed to teach his brother or sister how to ride a bike or hunt butterflies? Would his little sister be a girly girl or more like Maureen from down the street? Would his little brother get into scrapes and japes and come home covered in mud from scout trips?

No, she had informed him somewhat sadly, he was not soon to receive a brother or sister though she had a lot of hope for such an event.

The hope grew with the arrival of Carole, all three of them doting on her for the short time she was with them. He had overheard his parents discussing their future child, Shelagh obviously wanted one very much and his father had reassured him that he didn't have to worry about the prospect. They would be alright (although he _really_ didn't want to think about what alright entailed for his parents. Jack had given him a rather graphic, and probably somewhat inaccurate, description of where babies came from a week before the originally planned wedding, leading Tim to consult one of his fathers books. He hadn't been able to look Dad or Shelagh in the eye for a week.) So he let the hope grow more and more until it was all he could think about and plan for.

That hope was soon gone. Mum couldn't have children.

He wouldn't be a brother.


	3. Chapter 3

He hadn't expected it. At all. He knew Colin was adopted, he knew Carole had been given to adoptive parents yet the idea of his own potential brother or sister being an adopted entity hadn't even crossed his mind.

When his parents approached him about it he had been struck speechless. He had expected to be unconditionally thrilled by the idea but a few niggles of concern wormed they're way forward.

Would his adoptive sibling love him less for not being biologically related? Would they love him more for not being a half sibling? Would he come to resent them for having the same two parents their whole lives? Would Mum love him less for finally having a child of her choosing and not a side effect of a package deal?

He rubbished the last idea in a second. He was her son. Her firstborn.

Suddenly the practicalities of the situation hit him. They didn't have a spare room. There was always Dad's office and he usually worked in the living room so he could stay near to Mum and or himself. Made it much harder to do his chores. Speaking of-if he had half the chores because there were two children would he get half the pocket money?

His parents had tried not to laugh when he had posed these questions but the Turners had come to agreement. They would adopt a baby.

There was some sort of interview. He was shipped off to Colin's house whilst his Mum panicked over making the flat spotless for the woman who was coming to decide their future. He wasn't worried. His Mum and Dad were great parents, even Dad had been acting odd recently, and well respected members of the community. There was no reason why he wouldn't soon have a sibling.

Yet something happened that day and for the life of him Tim could not work out what. HIs parents weren't talking to each other, Mum was being cloying with towards him and Dad was rarely home. He hated it. Mum had explained that he shouldn't get his hopes up for a sibling, that he should get used to being an only child. They both cried over that and vowed to love each other more for it.

Suddenly everything changed. Mum seemed lighter, they had been approved as an adoptive family, but she still seemed sad until the next day when Dad couldn't keep his hands off of her to Tim's disgust.

Then came the phonecall.


	4. Chapter 4

His sister was tiny. Barely 2 days old and yet she'd been through so much upheaval already. He couldn't get over tiny her fingers and toes were. They looked as if they would break if he sneezed too hard whilst holding her.

She was quite cute he supposed, not as much as Carole was but his sister had the rest of their lives to grow into her cuteness so he didn't mind so much.  
The move from the acceptance letter to the phonecall to holding his sister had happened so quickly that his parents hadn't had a chance to think of a name for her. It was strange having a nameless sibling, he couldn't imagine not being Timothy. He'd almost been a Henry if Mummy was to be believed. His parents had wanted suggestions from him for them to choose from to compliment the easily agreed upon middle name of Julienne after her honorary grandmother. The pressure was immense, she would have this name for the rest of her life, what if he choose the wrong ones to suggest and she ended up with the wrong name. What if it didn't suit her when she grew up? What if she hated her name and blamed him?

He'd managed to narrow it down l, after several hours of deep thought, to a list of five names; Ruth after her paternal grandmother, Rosie after her maternal one, Joanna after her birth surname and biological heritage, Flora because he just liked that name and Angela because he'd overheard his parents call her their angel the day she became theirs.

His parents had been touched by his list and tried out each name by calling their daughter each one in turn. It was a close victory, won simply due to the rightness of Angela Julienne Turner rolling off the tongue as opposed to slightly clunkier Rosie Julienne Turner. His sister was Angela. Suddenly it all seemed much more real.

Only two days later Angela, already growing into her name, was introduced to her godmother, namesake and honorary grandmother. Sister Julienne had cried when she had learnt of the honour bestowed on her and in return Mum had cried back. It was her parting words as she made to leave, after many hours admiring the oft asleep babe and after attaining a promise for the turners, all four of them, to visit Nonnatus and let Angela meet the rest of her family, that stuck with Timothy.

 _You're a fantastic brother Timothy, your sister is very lucky to have you._ _  
_He didn't think she'd ever realise just how much those words would mean to him.


	5. Chapter 5

Angela was the family weakness and they knew it. Her father would often lapse into fits of daydreaming so long and so severely that Sister Evangelina, who absolutely doted on the youngest Turner and her mother, spent almost as much time trying to get him to pay attention as she did actual nursing.

Shelagh wasn't quite as bad as she didn't, initially, have as high a workload as her husband and so had more time to actually spend time with, instead of imagining spending time with, her precious bundle of puke and poop and tears as Tim had quickly nicknamed Angela. However she was still a very proud new mother and could go on for some considerable time about her daughter. Everyone knew that they simply had to segue vaguely close to a a baby related topic, which in a maternity convent was often, for new adorable information to be relayed. At the baby clinic everyone fussed and cooed over Angela and Shelagh quickly made new friends.

But it was Timothy who fully utilised his sisters power. He had discovered her use soon after her adoption and had the skill honed by Christmas. If he wanted something he need only refer to the benefit of it or the use of it in relation to her and it would happen 9 times out of 10. So he had planned his attack perfectly- get Mum on her own, for they all knew his father was not the final say decision maker in the marriage, and casually slip into conversation about Colins tree, test the waters and if the outlook looks bleak play the it's Angela's first Christmas and we can always say we got this the first year we had her card. It hadn't worked, Mum was stubborn and then a man had collapsed interrupting them. So he tried again later several days later.  
He'd been horrified by the conditions at the maternity home he had visited with his father and Akela, the idea that his own sister had come from a girl like the ones he'd seen, that she could have been born in such conditions was too horrible to think about and made him ever more grateful that they had her. It also made her power even greater-their parents decided to write to her birth mother so the girl would know the daughter she delivered was happy, healthy and oh so loved.

He saw the perfect chance to replay his plea in amongst the letter writing and to his surprise it had worked. Mere days later his dad was handing him a silver tree with a terrible grin on his face and Mum laughing at both males expressions. He'd never been more glad to have his sister.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N Remember ages ago when I said this was set in the same story frame as Towering Inferno? Yeah you may want to keep that in mind for this update (and the one after next onwards ;) )**

 **For the Wee baby turnadette. Hope this goes even a small way towards cheering you up a little ㈵6㈊9**

* * *

Their mother was in hospital. She'd been caughtm in a terrible fire at the maternity home. She was burned badly, many of her bones had been broken. Somebody had tried to kill her. She was in a coma.

Timothy clutched his sister to him, oblivious to the bluster of the nurses around him. His father and Sisters Julienne and Evangelina had gone to the hospital to see her many hours before but they wanted to make sure Mum was okay before Angela and he visited. They hadn't heard a word since.

Everyone was scared but they tried not to let him see. They failed. Angela was blissfully unaware of what was going on,her feet were far more interesting and her brother was pulling funny faces at her. It was the only way he could keep his mind off of Mum. As the clock chimed he realised he had an excuse to escape the cloying despair of the room. He turned down the nurses offer to put Angela to bed instead but he insisted. He sang a lullaby he had heard Mum sing to her, he probably butchered the Gaelic pronunciation but she got the idea and began to drift off in his arms. Instead of laying her in the crib they'd borrowed he placed her on his bed and lay down next to her watching the gentle rise and fall of her chest as she succumbed to the sandman. Her final act before falling under was to raise a hand toward him that he took and kissed. He fell asleep still holding it.

When he awoke the next morning he panicked. Angela was gone! He ran out of his temporary room in a panic and dashed to the dining room. His Dad was sat there playing with her on his lap, he couldn't decide if he was relieved or angry. He settled for finding out how Mum was.

Several weeks later Mum was still unconscious and Angela had noticed. They visited daily and every day Angela would cuddle up against her mother. For the first days she left relatively easily, during the next few she would fuss for a bit but by the second week there was screaming the second anyone tried to remove her that wouldn't end until Sister Julienne or Evangelina would cuddle her close. Tim couldn't stand to see his sister cry and so would try everything to get her to stop. He hated having to give her to the Sisters-he new they loved her but he loved her more and wished he could help her.

By the time their Mum woke up he'd almost given up hope. It had only been two and a half weeks but it had been two and a half weeks of hell. His father had moved into her hospital room and either Nurse Crane or Fred would drive them, and anyone else who was visiting that day, to the hospital. Many children may have felt abandoned by such an action on their fathers part but Tim understood-he had a whole family that could look after him and his sister, Mum would be all alone and Dad had already lost one wife, he couldn't lose another. Tim was sure he wouldn't survive losing her either but he had to be positive for everyone around him. If he cried he might not stop and then the nurses would coo over him and 'take Angela off of his hands' to 'reduce the strain' on him, never realising that holding the main link he had to his Mum-his beautiful, wonderful, miraculous baby sister- was just about the only thing keeping him from drowning.

A soon as Mum awoke she demanded to see Angela and himself immediately. They'd been waiting outside her room with Sisters Julienne and Evangelina ever since Dad had phoned with the news she was waking. As soon as he entered the room he passed over Angela to his Dad and crawled onto Mum's bed and hugged her carefully. Maturity be damned he needed a cuddle with his Mum. Soon Angela was added to the embrace with a warning from Dad that Mum shouldn't overexert herself. He got a glare for that. Angela was over the moon to have her Mummy back and the happy squeals she let out almost made all the painful waiting worth it. Almost.

Sister Evangelina moved in with them for a while to help Mum recover and help look after Angela after Mum was discharged from the hospital. It had taken a few weeks for her to recover sufficiently for release and by the time it came he was glad for the privacy his own home provided. Tim quickly became grateful for the nuns presence-taking on the role of primary caregiver of an infant was exhausting. Back in his domain, with Turners outnumbering Nonnatuns, he could let Sister take her without worry that his sister would love him less for t. He instead dedicated himself to the goal of getting Angela to walk.

She'd been trying to do it for weeks now ever since Sister Winifred had held her up and wiggled her making her dance. At the time Angela had just held on to her favourite aunts habit before dropping onto the floor clapping. That had been a few days after the fire and now an unofficial race was on between Mum and Angela to see who could take the first unassisted steps. Mum won, just, and everyone was secretly happy for Mum would surely have got in quite the bad mood and her temper was surprisingly scary when she wanted it to be.

He was still beyond proud of Angela though when she finally managed it. The first few steps she had taken toward him, and only him, happened almost in slow motion, his heart stopping as she look like she might topple into the chair next to him. Instead she toddled into his arms and everyone present ignored the tears in his eyes and he hugged her against his chest and kissed her.

Now all they had to do was keep up with her.


	7. Chapter 7

His not so baby anymore sister was 1. This fact was wrong, it had to be, there was no way they'd had her for 362 days. They'd had her forever, he couldn't remember life without her, life without her was just wrong, it was empty. Yet at the same time it seemed incomprehensible that it had been a whole year since he'd first held her in his arms. He could still remember the weight of her, so light he was scared stiff of coughing or sneezing near her, especially whilst holding her, in case he would break her. How had it been so long? He'd barely noticed her growing and then one day it had struck him that she wasn't a baby but a small toddler who was crawling and toddling, almost beating their mother to walking unaided. Now she was a monster on legs. Her babbling was unriveled by any baby at the clinic, she was well used to the swarms of people and seemed to endeavour to hold a conversation with each person. She reserved her main babbling for her parents, brother and Grannies Julienne and Evangelina though. She loved all of her extended family but her grannies she loved most. Sister Winifred had been an unlikely choice for favourite aunt but Angela had made her choice and that was final.

At first the family had been unsure whether to celebrate just her birthday or also her adoption anniversary. The dates we're only a few days apart so it seemed extravagant to celebrate both but each event was intrinsically important in it's own way. Eventually had settled on a larger party at Nonnatus for her birthday and more private family gathering jusy the four of them, Sisters Julienne, Evangelina and Winifred.

He'd long known that his sister was beloved by many but he had been overwhelmed by the outpouring of love from the community towards her. As the daughter of two of the most respected people in the area and an absolute darling Angela recieved a frankly ridiculous amount of presents. Tim had been reminded of the outpouring of love from the community following Dad's collapse such was the extent to which their living room had been buried.

As was their way the nuns had all knitted outfits and toys with Sister Monica Joan handing over her knitted nun with familiar glasses and stance with a cheeky glint in her eye. He'd almost cried with laughter as Angela took one curious look at the doll before throwing across the room only to cling to it several seconds later when it was returned to her. She'd kept hold of it for the rest of the day.

Fred had crafted a set of shape sorter and peg board that had reduced Mum to tears in it's elegance. 'Uncle' Fred was born then.

Trixie had bought a miniature nurses outfit that Barbara had altered to look like a Nonnatus one. Nurse Crane had gotten in on the idea and found a miniature doctors uniform 'seeing as young Miss Turner had spent so much time at the surgery anyway.' They'd all laughed at that.

Jenny had sent a promise of great presents when she next visited. She wanted to see Angela's face as she got it.

Patsy had reportedly had a grand time shopping for presents but eventually settled for push trolley that jingled as it was pushed.

The gifts from the community were less personal and more practical. He'd overheard Mum remark that they wouldn't need to buy anything until Angela turned two. Teething toys, blocks, dollies, clothes and the like. Those who had been unable to spare expense sent well wishes and many had instead baked cakes for the family. None of those beat the majesty of Mrs Bs birthday cake.

The next day, there were no presents exchanged. Instead they all took time off of work and took Angela to a local park where they fed the ducks and let her chase the birds in her own stumbling manner. Sure they probably looked a picture-three nuns, an aging woman, a middle aged man, a Scottish woman, a boy with weeds for legs and a hyperactive baby. As far as he was concerned they looked just as they were-a family.


End file.
